5 Ways to high five your family

A guide to getting your family to eat five fistfuls of fruits and vegetables

- June 1, 2020

Marisa Crespo, our thoughtful writer and editor at Nutrition4 Kids, is always trying to engage readers with her energetic articles. She has her bachelor's degree in Nutrition and is interested in the psychology of eating as well as plant-based lifestyles. On her free time she enjoys creative writing, exploring parks and cities, and having a […]

Article in collaboration with: Dr. Stan (Stan Cohen MD)

You're excited about getting your family to eat five fistfuls of fruits and vegetables and you can give them a good explanation of why it's just as important as brushing their teeth. Here's 5 ways to build their excitement too.

1. Make it into a Game

Everyone loves games, especially your little ones. Using the Five Fistfuls is an easy way to help your children get a hands on experience with making good food choices. Challenge your kids to find different foods that are the size of their fists. Use their fists to measure how much of certain foods they would eat, giving them their choice of which fruits and vegetables they want.

You can let them help you with cooking or plating the food.
You can also turn it into a scavenger hunt in the produce aisles in grocery stores.

2. Make it into a Competition

Text each other, showing off your daily fistfulls.

See who can get their five fistfulls in first or most creative.
Choose incentives that motivate your family to want to win. For example, the weekly winner gets to choose the vegetable that everyone else has to eat and they get a free pass.

3. Use Reason

If games don't "woo" your crew, talk about:

Brushing their teeth and why eating fruits and vegetables are just as important.
The vitamins and minerals in the different fruits and vegetables, and what they do.
How there are more bacteria and organisms in the intestine, the microbiome than there are cells in our body.
How fruits and vegetables are healthy prebiotic
How the intestines work and the role fruits and vegetables play.

4. Build their Interest

Kids love to participate, especially when they're younger.

Let them help you pick out the fruits and vegetables at farmer's markets, grocery stores, or roadside stands
Have them help you cook or plate the food
Help them plant and grow a vegetable garden

5. Use Magic

When all else fails, use our tips for tricking your family into eating their fruits and veggies.

Bottom line

Meeting your fruit and vegetable needs can be fun and easy, but not everyone in the family will be on board. Using games, competition, reasoning, and fun experiences can help make the transition easier for your family. Remember that change takes time. Even if everyone doesn't eat their Five Fistfulls in the beginning, encouragement and patience can help improve your family's diet and their wellbeing.